The Raven and the Dove (The Raven and the Dove #1) - Kaitlyn Davis Page 0,112
They didn’t talk about Rafe’s magic. Not really. It was like dust, to be swept under the rug, there but not there, out of sight and out of mind, until it was too obvious to ignore. Now was one of those times.
“That was…” Xander searched for the word, eyes continuing to rove over the injuries that were no longer there. “Fast.”
Rafe knew what he meant.
He closed his wings as he stood, hiding them behind his back and joining Xander at the window. “It looked worse than it was.”
“It looked bad, Rafe,” Xander said quietly. “It looked fatal. It was fatal…to nearly everyone else.”
The edge of Rafe’s lip rose, though his eyes remained stormy. “Let me guess, the people are talking?”
“Can you blame them?”
“No.” Rafe faced him, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes softening. “What do you need me to do?”
“My mother wants me to send you away,” Xander said in a lighthearted tone.
He expected Rafe to respond with a snort and, Banishment again? How unoriginal.
Or perhaps a roll of his eyes and a tired sigh.
Or maybe even a grin and, A vacation? Lovely.
Instead, Rafe held his gaze, features disturbingly still as he asked, “Should you?”
A nervous laugh spilled from Xander’s lips. “Come on. It’s just gossip.”
“It’s only gossip if it’s not true.”
“Rafe, you’re not cursed.”
His brother just shrugged.
“Rafe,” Xander insisted, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder.
Shirking the hold, Rafe stepped back. “Maybe you should send me away, Xander. You don’t need me anymore. You have a mate and a kingdom, and I’m just a liability.”
“How can you say that?” Xander squinted, as if unable to recognize the man before him. Was this why Rafe had been spending hours upon hours in the practice field swinging a sword? Never coming to lunch or to dinner? Hardly coming to his room at night to talk? Because he was afraid of being replaced? “You’re my brother. I’ll always need you. And if you weren’t the way you are, if you were anyone else, my mate would be dead and my kingdom lost, and that’s the truth, no matter what anyone else believes. All right?”
Rafe raised his chin almost defiantly. “All right.”
“Good.” Xander said again and offered his brother a wry look. “Now really try to hold on to everything I just said, because you’re not going to like what comes next.”
Rafe scowled.
“I need you to stay in your rooms, out of sight, until after the mating ceremony.”
The blue glare deepened, but it had a resigned edge.
“I know, I know.” Xander held up his arms. “But people need to believe you’re recovering on a normal timeline. Well, a plausible timeline anyway. A few weeks and hopefully this will seem like old news.”
Xander didn’t want to give voice to the ugly thought that shouldn't be in his head, the thought he tried to push down, down, down his right arm into the invisible fist where all the malicious, nasty parts of him lived—but he couldn’t quite get rid of it.
And by then, Lyana will be mine, before the gods.
It was jealous, spiteful, and he hated himself for it.
But it was true.
He couldn’t bring himself to ask Rafe about the courtship trials now, not with that horrible thought knocking all the rest out of place. He didn’t want to accuse his brother or his mate. He didn’t want to place blame where there was none to place. Because it couldn’t be true. There was no way. Rafe loved him. Rafe was loyal. Rafe would never betray him like that, never, not with the past they shared.
He turned the conversation to lighter topics and stayed for a while longer, smiling and laughing with his brother, purging the unclean feeling before he left. By the time he got to the princess’s room, he was himself again, and the sight of her smile made his day all the brighter.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he stopped just inside the threshold, unsure if he was welcome.
Lyana was resting in her bed, being primped by the servants, tossing one of them an annoyed look as her pillow was stripped away to be fluffed. Her calf was wrapped in a fresh bandage, which meant the healers had stopped by that morning.
Sensing his gaze, she wiggled her exposed toes and said, “I’m fine.” But then she eyed him suspiciously, even as her grin widened. “Unless you mean to drag me to more lessons, in which case, I’m in excruciating pain and don’t wish to be disturbed.”